Damien Chazelle

I guess art itself is insane. Its actual function is rarely clear, and yet people give their hearts and souls and lives to it, and have for all of history. ”

There are a lot of musicians in my life. But movies came first for me. That was my original passion. ”

What I love about jazz is that it's full of legends, full of myths. It's an oral history because it started in New Orleans and Kansas City, under the radar. ”

I love the idea of using film language similarly to how musicians use music - combining images and sounds in a way that they create an emotional effect. ”

I love movies where you can sense that the director risked biting off more than they can chew. ”

What's great about musicals is their energy and go-for-brokeness - stopping the story to sing and dance. How can you not love that? ”

I love the ending of 'The Wrestler.' ”

I was interested in music and making movies about musicians, but my own experiences, and doing what it felt like for me to be a drummer? Nah, I wasn't interested in that. ”

There's something very particular about the kind of rage you feel when you're alone in a practice room by yourself, unable to master a simple thing like a rudiment. You keep trying to master this very basic thing, and when you don't get it, you just scream. I broke a lot of drum heads, and I broke a lot of sticks. ”

Practicing is not normally fun. Sometimes people say they're practicing, but they're really just enjoying themselves and the instrument. That's not real practice. ”